


Hiding from Sunshine

by SmoshArrowverseFan



Series: Smosh Superhero Au [1]
Category: Smosh
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, i feel like im just making it sound more lame, idk what else to put here to make you click on this im trying to make it sound not lame lmao, kind of like power rangers kind of like every cliche superhero au on fanfiction dot net, not super shaymien (yet) but just establishing that they like each other soo, theyll come in later dont worry, this is setting up my superhero au, wes boze sohinki mari and anthony dont show up but theyre mentioned, whatevs, whether or not you read this have a great day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 11:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15629583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoshArrowverseFan/pseuds/SmoshArrowverseFan
Summary: Shayne, Damien, Courtney, Olivia, Keith, and Noah aren't friends. They hardly know each other, and they don't really like each other either. But thanks to a dare, they're all on private property above their town, trapped in a cave looking for some weird colored lights Olivia claimed to have seen. The deeper they get, the stranger things get. Little did they know that this night will change all of their lives forever.Setup for my superhero AU.





	1. Cave

**Author's Note:**

> yall i really like this but i did something weird where i accidentally switched the character whose thoughts we were hearing like... all the time. and i do specify who's thinking what but still... a little weird. this is setting up my au and i promise my other ones will only have one person's thoughts lmao.
> 
> also planning on writing a prequel to this explaining... why they're in a fuckin cave (i mean i kindddd of explain it but really i wanted to jump into the Real Story so i didn't write the scene BUT I WILL). anyway yeah, enjoy!
> 
> (also i know what a great chapter title)

"...What the fuck was that?" Shayne shined his flashlight in the direction the noise had come from. Courtney huffed and crossed her arms.

"I have no idea, but I'm getting out of here. I don't know why I even let you people drag me out here!"

"Courtney... come on, seriously? You're leaving right when things are getting interesting?" Olivia said, deflating a little.

"Interesting? This is scary as fuck. I don't care how much I owe you all now, I'm done."

"Come on, we just need to go a little further and then we can turn around, Olivia said she saw it a little further down," Damien said, running a hand through his hair. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was a little tense himself.

"I'm with Courtney, this is a little to crazy for me," Keith added.

"Seriously guys, just a little more, like Damien said. Then we'll go back, I promise," Olivia said. Courtney shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm not doing this. I'm out," She said. Keith frowned at the group, taking a step back.

"Yeah, I'm out too... Good luck though!" He said, before walking quickly to join Courtney. Shayne glared daggers at the place they'd been standing.

"Alright, you go chicken out! You both owe all of us ten bucks each!" He called.

"I don't care, you can have my money!" Courtney called back. Just then, there was a loud noise that sounded like rock scraping against rock, and an encyclopedia of curses from Courtney and Keith, before the two appeared again.

"What just happened?" Noah asked.

"Well, thanks to you people, we're stuck. Like, this giant thing of rock fell down and blocked our path," Courtney said.

"Fuck, fuck, I'm going to be in so much trouble when I get out. If I get out. Oh my god, this is private property, we're not even supposed to be here, and we fucking broke it! We broke the private property!" Keith panicked.

"Jesus, you're acting like you're the only one trapped down here. We're all trapped together, dude," Shayne said. Keith looked at him like he was crazy.

"Was that supposed to make me feel better? No offense, but I either don't know or don't like everyone here."

"Okay, good point... wait, who's who?" Damien asked. Courtney groaned.

"Does it matter? We're probably going to get into a shit ton of trouble for trespassing. Or die here, your pick."

"We can choose?" Olivia asked, and was promptly ignored.

"Wait, we can call someone to get us out, right? Like someone who won't get us in trouble," Noah suggested.

"Wow, what a great idea, Noah! Never would have thought of that! Except for the fact that we're in a fucking cave, with probably no service!" Courtney glared.

"Calm your tits, Courtney. He's just trying to help," Shayne said. Courtney rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

"Look, our best bet right now is to just keep walking. Hopefully there's another way out, or at least somewhere closer to the surface where we can get service," Shayne suggested.

"Or we could get even more lost," Courtney said.

"Look, it's the best plan we've got right now, and I say we go for it," Damien said.

"It is looking like our best chance of getting out..." Noah said thoughtfully.

"And maybe we'll find the glowing lights," Olivia added. Courtney groaned.

"At this point, I care less about your stupid fucking lights than I did the other day when I agreed to come here with you dumbasses."

"Courtney. Chill," Shayne warned. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, let's just get moving."

Shayne led the way with the brightest flashlight, Damien a few steps behind on his left and Olivia to his right. Courtney was also on his right, but left about five feet in between her and Olivia. Keith and Noah brought up the rear, but were only a couple strides behind the others. They walked in silence, with the exception of their breathing and the occasional cough. Shayne glanced at Damien as he walked. The dark haired boy's face was tight, clearly tense given the situation. Still, he looked good. Shayne tried to shake this thought. He really needed to get over this stupid crush, or at least... turn it off until they were out of the cave. Then Shayne could go back to pining from a distance.

Okay, maybe that wasn't great either, but the other alternatives were getting over the crush, or... actually getting together, neither of which Shayne saw happening in the near future. So... pining. He sighed, then paused. What was that noise? The others stopped around him.

"Did anyone else hear that?" He asked.

"Hear what?"

"I heard like... a pulsing. It was probably just my imagination, I'm a little freaked right now," Shayne frowned, almost sure he'd heard something, but when the noise didn't return, he continued walking, the others following close behind.

About fifteen minutes later, he heard the noise again, much more intense this time, and definitely real. He stopped again.

"Okay seriously, no one else is hearing this?" He asked.

"You're hearing things again?" Olivia asked, looking concerned. Shayne frowned.

"Yeah, they sound very real..." He said. Courtney looked at him, annoyed.

"Look, Shayne, I just want to get out of here, can you just ignore... whatever and keep walking?"

"Sure, yeah," He said, and resumed walking again. Just a few minutes later, Shayne heard the pulsing again, this time even more intense, and increasing in volume. His head was in pain suddenly, and he fell to the floor. Damien and Olivia were quickly kneeling next to him, with Courtney, Noah, and Keith gazing down as he writhed the ground. Even Courtney looked a little concerned now.

"Shayne? What's happening, are you okay?" Damien asked quickly.

"He doesn't exactly look okay..." Keith frowned.

"Shut up, dude," Noah said.

"Sorry."

"Shit, what do I do?" Damien asked, beginning to hyperventilate a little. Shayne stopped thrashing, now still. Olivia nudged him in the shoulder.

"Shayne?"

"Shit, he's not moving. Is he breathing?" Damien asked. Olivia quickly checked.

"Yeah, he is. We need to wake him up, though. We've got to keep going, and it's not like we can carry him," She said.

"How the fuck do you propose we do that?" Damien snapped.

"Lay off, Damien, she's trying to help," Noah said.

"Yeah, well she's not helping," He said. Damien and Noah began to argue, with Keith trying to break them up. Olivia stayed on the floor, staring at Shayne's unmoving body and trying not to cry. She cried when she was stressed, worried, scared, or angry, which... was kind of a lot. At her old school, people had gone out of their way to make her cry. They'd even made a game out of it, where people got more points the better reaction they got out of her. She didn't want to cry in front of these people who already hated her and thought she was weird. Speaking of, she noticed that Courtney had been weirdly quiet, and looked up just as Courtney unscrewed her water bottle and poured it onto Shayne's face.

The splashing alerted Damien, Noah, and Keith, who snapped out of the fight to look at Courtney.

"What the fu-" Damien stopped short as Shayne began to cough and open his eyes, only to close them again, as Courtney hadn't stopped pouring water into his face.

"Jesus, what happened? Why are you pouring water on me?" He coughed.

"You started, like, freaking out and then you passed out. And everyone was too busy yelling at each other to fucking do anything, so..." Courtney shrugged.

"Okay, well- thanks for waking me up, but you can- Courtney, you can stop with the water now!" He said. Courtney's face flashed with embarrassment as she realized she was still pouring the water and quickly tilted the bottle upward.

"Oh, sorry. What was that even about?" She asked, hiding her slip of character.

"I... don't know. I heard the pulsing again, and..." Shayne peered past her. "Do you guys see that?"

Everyone turned to look. Coming from a path that broke off from the one they'd been walking through, was a pulsing, color changing glow. Nobody moved, unsure of what to do.

"You think there's some... weird underground rave in this cave?" Noah asked, clearly not believing what he was saying.

"Those are the lights I was talking about..." Olivia said, half dazed and half surprised. She'd honestly started to believe she'd imagined the lights herself.

"Holy shit... you weren't lying about the lights," Courtney said, almost feeling guilty for giving Olivia so much crap earlier. Almost.

"So, do we... go look or something?" Damien asked, taking a cautious step toward the fork in the path. Olivia helped Shayne to his feet, and everyone but Keith slowly moved toward the lights. Keith looked at them like they were insane. Not that they could see him, as he was behind all of them.

"Wait, what the fuck are you doing?" He asked. No one replied, or even seemed to notice him. "Guys?"

"I have no fucking clue," Damien said. He was buzzing with curiosity and excitement and fear and a little of something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Anticipation? Maybe. That still didn't seem right, but he didn't care. All he cared about were the lights. He felt an almost magnetic pull down the path. In the back of his mind, he could tell it was irrational, that he should probably turn around, but he didn't. He kept pushing forward.

"Seriously, what the fuck, are y'all possessed or some shit? Am I gonna need to exorcize you?" Keith said, talking quickly.

"We aren't possessed, Keith," Noah said, annoyed.

"That's exactly what a possessed person would say," Keith grumbled, before jogging to catch up with them. He didn't particularly want to keep moving toward the source of the mysterious lights, but he wanted to be left alone in this creepy ass cave even less. And to be honest, he was kind of curious about what weird color changing lights were doing in a cave at all.

The pathway was twisted and spiraled downward, and Keith thought it seemed really... manmade, for lack of a better word. Maybe the owner of the property had built a weird underground club or something? Okay, no, that was fucking dumb, scratch that.

Keith, deep in thought, didn't notice when the person in front of him, who happened to be Noah, stopped, and bumped into him, causing him to bump into the person in front of him, who happened to be Courtney. Courtney bumped into Olivia, who bumped into Shayne, who bumped into Damien, who stumbled further into the room that the path had widened into.

"Holy shit..." Damien said, taking in the giant cave-room.

"It's like... the Batcave or something..." Noah commented.

"Yeah..."

"Why the fuck would someone put this here though?" Courtney wondered.

"That is... a very good question," Shayne frowned.

The narrow, high-ceilinged passage had quickly turned into a wide cavern, with a much higher dome-shaped ceiling. The walls of the cave were lined with purple lights and the occasional shelf or weird looking machine that none of them could identify. But all eyes were drawn to something that could only be described as a color changing ball of energy that was hovering in the center of the cave. Installed in the floor around the light were metal circles with individual colored lights in the middle. Damien couldn't help comparing it to the Power Rangers' base.

"What is that?" Courtney asked, her voice missing its usual bite.

"Do you want to find out?" Damien asked. He moved toward the blue colored circle, pausing before placing one foot, and then the next on the circle. Shayne watched him carefully. He shook his head, attempting to banish his nerves and fear of looking dumb. If they were gonna look dumb, they were gonna look dumb together.

"Fuck it," He said, stepping onto the red circle. Olivia followed, taking the yellow.

"What are we even doing right now?" Courtney asked, but regardless, stepped onto the pink circle. 

"No idea," Noah said, getting on the purple circle. Keith sighed.

"At least you left me with my favorite color," He said, and stepped onto the green. For a moment, nothing happened, and everyone felt kind of stupid. Then, the platforms they were standing on began to vibrate and make weird whirring noises.

"Why did we do this? I immediately regret it!" Noah shouted.

"Same!" Keith yelled from across the circle.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll all be fine!" Olivia said, half to reassure herself. The colored lights built around them.

"What the actual fuck?" Someone said, but Damien couldn't make out who it was. Then, just as quickly as it had started, everything stopped. Damien looked around. Everyone seemed to be in a state of dazed confusion which matched his own. He... wasn't sure what had just happened. It was... pretty cool, but also super weird. Well, sticking with the theme of the evening, apparently.

"That was... what even was that?" Noah asked. Damien shrugged.

"I have no fucking idea. But it was wild..."

Just then, there was a scraping noise from behind Damien. He whipped around to see part of the wall slide apart to reveal a second pathway, and more importantly, a dark haired man with glasses, who was talking on the phone. 

"Yeah, Ian, I already told Mari and Sohinki to check-"

He immediately stopped talking when he noticed them. His eyes widened. Damien moved to apologize and explain how they'd gotten down here in the first place, but the guy spoke first.

"Holy shit."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get Real.

"I'm really sorry, we were coming down here on a dare, and then the rock trapped us inside, so we kept walking to try and get out, and then we saw the lights and Shayne passed out, we can get out right now if you want-" Damien's rambling was cut off.

"You're... it's fine. Did the... the thing you were standing on, did it light up?" The guy asked. Damien nodded slowly, wondering how much trouble they were in. The guy looked like he was about to say something else, when he remembered he was still on the phone.

"Hey, Ian? Some, uh, some kids found their way to the cave and activated it by accident," He said to the person on the other end of the line, presumably Ian. He paused as Ian said something in reply, nodded as though Ian could see him.

"Okay, will do. Alright. I'll see you soon. Bye," He said, hanging up and glancing at the teenagers who were still standing on the colored circles.

"Again, we're really sorry, we can make it up to you," Shayne said. The guy shook his head.

"You're fine. I'm gonna ask you all to come with me, you're not in trouble, but... there's a lot to explain, actually, I'll let someone else do the talking. But, uh, could you guys follow me? I know how sketchy this sounds," He said.

"Um..." Shayne frowned. This guy didn't seem like he meant any harm, but the whole situation was really, really weird. At this point, he was just looking forward to being somewhere other than a cave, so he took a step off of the platform and toward the guy. As he moved, the others followed him.

"Alright, well, just follow me this way... Um, I'm Joven. I totally feel like one of those tour guides right now," He said. Everyone was too weirded out by the whole situation to respond.

This pathway was a lot wider than the first one they'd taken, and it wasn't twisted. It was more like one of those ramps that takes you from one floor to another in a parking garage. The ground leveled out, and they found themselves in front of another one of the stone doors with a keypad next to it. Joven typed in some numbers, and the door slid open with a scraping noise. Joven winced.

"I hate that sound," He said, and took a step forward into a very different setting. Damien paused to take everything in. They were in what looked like a lobby, with a front desk and several small podiums holding various awards lining the walls. On the opposite end of the room was a small waterfall that poured from the ceiling and into a small fountain. There were a few concrete beams supporting the ceiling, and in the center of the room were a few curved couches surrounding a table that was built into the floor. Across the room was a sliding door similar to the one they'd just walked through, but much more sleek. And, you know, not made out of rock.

"Alright, just take a seat. Ian should be here shortly," Joven said. Damien took a seat on one of the couches, and Shayne flung himself down next to Damien. Olivia sat on Shayne's other side, and Noah, Keith, and Courtney took the couch across the table. Joven stayed by the door.

"Okay, this night is weird as fuck and it keeps getting weirder," Courtney frowned, speaking quietly so that Joven couldn't hear her. Shayne nodded.

"Yeah. What even happened back there?" He asked.

"And why'd you pass out? Was the sound you were hearing linked to the lights or something?" Noah asked. Shayne shook his head.

"I don't know. Maybe. It did get stronger the closer we got to the lights, and it pulsed the same way that big light in the center did," He said.

"I don't really care what's going on, as long as we figure out what's going on and get the hell out before I get in trouble with my mom," Keith said. Noah nodded.

"Yeah, I definitely don't want to get in trouble right now. I've been trying to get my mom to let me buy a new computer for months, and I'm this close to cracking her."

"Alright, well I don't plan on staying here any longer than I have to. So we talk to whoever we have to talk to, we get out of here," Shayne said.

"Sounds good," Damien said. Olivia had something to say, but before she could speak up, the door across the room slid open with a much less painful sound. Everyone looked up. Everyone gasped.

"Wait, by Ian, you meant..." Shayne trailed off.

"Ian Hecox..." Damien said, also in shock. Ian glanced at their expressions and then to Joven.

"You didn't tell them?"

"I mean... no, I thought it'd be funny. And it is, right? Look at their faces!"

"Okay, you're right, it is kind of funny... But I think we'd like to minimize surprises for now, they've probably had a big night," Ian said. Ian Hecox, head of Hecox Enterprises, one of the largest tech companies in the world, was talking to them. He was like... the real life Tony Stark or something. Well, minus the whole superhero thing. Point is, Ian Hecox was kind of a big deal.

"Alright, well, I guess I should explain what it was you stumbled across down there. I've been working on a project with my best friend, Anthony, and Joven here. There are a few more people involved, but they're working on other things primarily. But it's not important. What's important is, you guys activated what we've been working on unintentionally, which... well, we were trying to give ourselves superpowers, actually. Unfortunately, the technology wasn't working with us, which we figured was because I didn't actually create it. Well, not the energy source. We got it from a guy who said he dealt in alien technologies, and I'm gonna be honest, I didn't really believe him, but it seems like the energy... chose to activate for you. Which sounds pretty alien-like to me. I only took him up on the energy because it was strong enough for what I needed, and it looked hella cool. Okay, you guys look totally shocked right now, I'm gonna stop talking for a second," Ian said, looking slightly guilty.

Shayne had stopped listening at 'superpowers', and then started and immediately stopped at 'aliens'. This guy sounded absolutely crazy, but he was, like, a genius or something, so maybe he was credible. Plus, what about the past few hours hadn't been wildly insane?

"So... wait, we have alien-powered superpowers or something?" Noah asked, unbelieving. Ian nodded.

"That's the intended effect, yes. We will have to test that out," He said. Noah's eyes widened.

"What, like... right now?"

"I mean, if everyone's ready for that, then yeah. If you guys need a little time, that's understandable. We can wait as long as you need."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but this is just... really hard to believe. And also, totally crazy. What am I even supposed to do with superpowers? Won't the government, like, want to dissect us or something?" Courtney asked defensively. Ian sighed deeply.

"I mean... I definitely wasn't intending for... how old are you all?" He asked.

"Oh, I think we're all sixteen," Damien said. Ian looked guilty.

"Jesus, you're what, sophomores? Juniors? I didn't mean for kids to get powers, they were supposed to be for me and my friends, who... I'm not gonna say we'd be able to handle them better than you would, but I feel worse about kids having to deal with this. But I'll do everything in my power to keep anything from happening to you all."

"Wait, so we're going to... see you again?" Shayne asked. Ian nodded.

"I feel obligated to keep in contact with you, seeing as I've definitely made your lives a lot more complicated. I'm really sorry about that, by the way."

"Don't be, this is cool as fuck! Wait, can I curse around you?" Shayne asked.

"Yeah, it's fine, I don't care. To be honest, I curse all the time. But... okay, yeah, it's pretty cool, but it's also super dangerous," Ian said. Shayne shrugged.

"I totally don't care. Superpowers are tight as hell. Wait, what superpower do I get? Or is it more than one?" He asked. Ian had always been one of Shayne's role models, and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't wanted superpowers. Courtney shook her head like he was crazy.

"Wait, I'm sorry, slow down. You don't care that if anyone finds out about this we'd probably be kidnapped by like... criminals? Or the government? Like, that doesn't bother you at all?"

"Okay, true. But Ian was ready to take all of that on, right? It was worth it for him to have superpowers. And it's worth it to me, too," Shayne said.

"Well, yes, but I don't want you to go rushing into danger or anything... and... what was your name?" Ian asked.

"Shayne."

"Not you, you," Ian said, pointing to Courtney.

"Oh, I'm Courtney."

"Yeah, Courtney. I'm not going to let anyone kidnap you, you have my word."

"How much is that worth? What can you even do?" Courtney asked. Keith looked at her.

"He's a famous rich white dude. He can basically do whatever."

"Yeah. What he said, basically. Point is, my goal from now on is to keep you as safe as possible. Which means, I'm going to train you to use your powers safely, and I'm going to make sure nobody gets to you guys. I've got a couple of people working for me in Riverside, so I'll have them make sure you're safe," Ian said. Shayne frowned.

"Wait, you have people in Riverside?"

"Yeah, two. Wes and Boze. They're running-"

"They're running the diner! I love that place. They're super cool. And they work for you?" Shayne asked. Ian nodded.

"That's right. Actually, it's more like they work with me. Anyway, you'll be very safe in their hands. Are you all okay to make sure everything's running smoothly?"

"Like... test out our powers?" Shayne asked. Ian nodded.

"Definitely," Damien said. Ian smiled and clapped his hands.

"Alright then! If you all would just follow me," He said, turning away from the group as they got to their feet. Ian led them away, Joven bringing up the rear. Shayne was usually a cautious person, but here was Ian Hecox telling him he now had a superpower. Or superpowers! He hadn't actually specified, so it could be more than one. So yeah, his natural caution was thrown to the wind in this instance.

Ian led them through a sparse hallway, and opened the first door he came across. He swept out his arms, welcoming them.

"Here's the gym. Here, we'll test out your powers. Do you remember which colored platforms you stepped on?" Ian asked.

"I was blue," Damien said. Ian nodded.

"Alright. Well, then you should have electricity manipulation," He said nonchalantly. Damien's eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, that was going to be my friend Anthony's power if we could activate the platforms... but that's not important! What is important is making sure you guys are prepared. Anyone else remember their color?" Ian asked.

"Um, I was purple," Noah said. Ian smiled.

"Ooh, that was super speed. That was going to be Sohinki's." Noah seemed satisfied with this. "Anyone else?"

"Pink," Courtney said simply. Ian nodded.

"Oh, you've got the combo of flight and light manipulation. That was gonna be Mari's."

"That's... okay, that's pretty cool actually," Courtney said.

"I was green," Keith said.

"That's probably the most complicated power set, actually. It was sort of... manipulation of plants and the earth, but also you can bond with animals. That was going to be mine. Honestly, I just wanted to talk with people's dogs, but that wasn't really a good enough power, so I kind of beefed it up," Ian shrugged, before turning to Olivia, who had been oddly quiet since Joven had found them back in the cavern.

"What about you? Yellow or red?" He asked.

"Yellow."

"That's super strength. Simple, but definitely useful. That was going to be Joven's power, actually," Ian said, glancing at the man in the corner. Olivia nodded. Ian turned to Shayne.

"So you're red then?" He asked. Shayne nodded. "That's going to be smoke and fire manipulation. That was going to be Lasercorn's."

"What kind of a name is Lasercorn?" Courtney asked. Ian and Joven laughed.

"It's a nickname," Joven said after a moment. Courtney was even more confused.

"A nickname for what?"

"It's kind of just what we call him. It's not like... anywhere close to his actual name, oh my god. What kind of name do you think has Lasercorn in it?" Ian said, laughing harder. Courtney huffed.

"I don't know, you tell me," She said. Ian wiped away a tear.

"Okay, you're funny. I like you already."

"I'm not... trying to be funny? I'm serious!"

"Alright, okay, sorry. Um, I just realized I totally forgot to ask any of your names except for Courtney's and uh... I'm sorry, I actually forget your name. God, what kind of an example am I setting here? If I'm gonna be, like... mentoring you, I'll have to be more responsible. So, uh, what are your names?" Ian asked. Damien raised his hand.

"I'm Damien! These are Shayne, Noah, Keith, and Olivia. And you've met Courtney. I mean, technically you've met all of us, but you knew her name already," Damien rambled. Ian blinked.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to say that about ten times slower if you want me to remember your names at all," He said. Damien flushed.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm Damien. This is Shayne," He paused to point to Shayne, who waved awkwardly. God, he was cute. "Um, this is Noah."

"Hey."

"This is Keith," Damien nodded at Keith, who smiled at Ian.

"Hi."

"And this is Olivia," Damien concluded. Olivia nodded tensely. Damien frowned. Was she alright? She'd seemed off since they'd encountered Joven. He'd check with her as soon as they had a little privacy.

"Well, it's great to meet you all. Who'd like to test out their powers first?" Ian asked. Shayne eagerly raised his hand. "Alright, Shayne. Follow me."

Ian walked to a section of the wall that was different than the rest. It pushed out a little further than the other walls, and it seemed to be singed. Shayne looked from the wall to Ian.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked. Ian frowned.

"I mean... I haven't experienced it. I guess you try to channel some sort of... smoke, or fire, or whatever," He shrugged. Shayne nodded seriously, furrowing his brow in concentration. He took a deep breath, before planting his feet and thrusting his arms forward dramatically. Nothing happened. Courtney snickered. Shayne glanced at her, annoyed.

"Shut up."

"Didn't say anything," Courtney said, looking away innocently. Shayne glared at her for a moment longer, before deciding it wasn't worth it and turning back to the wall. He tried the same motion, again to no avail. He tried a third time, and then a fourth. By the fifth, he was getting frustrated. After the seventh try, he threw his hands up.

"It's clearly not working. You sure we actually have superpowers?" Shayne asked. Ian looked taken aback.

"You're doubting my technology? Of course you have superpowers. Maybe you need some... motivation, or something."

"Like...?" Shayne frowned. Ian looked around the room, before snapping his fingers. He pulled something out of his pocket, which upon further inspection was a remote. Ian pressed a few buttons, and suddenly, the wall slid up to reveal a set of holes behind it. Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, Ian pressed another button, and fireballs flew out of the holes. Ian, Joven, Keith, and Noah jumped out of the way in time, but Damien, Courtney, Olivia, and Shayne didn't. Faced with fiery impending death, they were too shocked to move. Courtney tried to cover her face, and Damien stumbled back a little, but it wasn't nearly enough to save them.

What did save them was Shayne. When Courtney stopped shielding her face, long after she had expected to last, Shayne had his hands out, and the fire was hovering a few feet away from them. Shayne concentrated, and the fire slowly moved to his hands, where he held it for a moment, before absorbing it completely. Courtney looked at him, dumbfounded. That was weird as fuck. Then, she remembered how she'd almost died, and turned to Ian, fuming.

"What the hell?"

"Hm?"

"Are you fucking crazy? We could have died!" She said. Ian frowned.

"Yeah, I definitely didn't think that through... I just thought Shayne would be able to stop the fire under pressure... And he totally did! You are alive, anyway."

"Okay, but what if it hadn't worked? And we're supposed to trust you with our lives now? Jesus, we're as good as dead," Courtney said. Ian looked slightly wounded, but quickly masked it with a smile.

"I... you're right. That was irresponsible of me, and I'm sorry," He said. Courtney clearly hadn't expected that response and took a moment to reply.

"Um... thank you."

"Alright, Shayne, do you think you can do anything else with your powers now?" Ian asked. Shayne frowned.

"Well, I guess we're gonna see," He said. He concentrated again, and formed a small ball of fire in his hands. He smiled up at the group.

"Nice job! You're getting the hang of it!" Ian said, clearly proud. Whether he was proud of Shayne or his own technology was a mystery. He looked to the others.

"So... who's next?"

"Uh, I'll go next," Damien volunteered. Ian nodded.

"Alright, let's see what you've got," He said, pressing another button. The section of wall slid back down. Damien faced it and struck a pose similar to the one Shayne had taken. He took a breath, and a small spark jumped from his finger. He sighed.

"It's a start, don't beat yourself up!" Shayne said encouragingly. Damien glanced at him and smiled gratefully, glad he had someone supporting him. This was really nerve inducing since so many people were watching, but it was good to know someone was supporting him.

He tried again, this time managing a more impressive bolt of electricity arcing out of his fingers and striking the wall. He breathed heavily, stepping back.

"Whoa," Was all he could manage. Ian clapped loudly, and the others joined in.

"Well done, Damien!" He said. Damien nodded, clearly proud of himself. Courtney stepped forward.

"I'll go next," She said. Ian raised his eyebrows.

"Alright, show us what you've got then," He said. Courtney nodded, taking a step back. She glanced up at the ceiling at one of the lights. She remembered how Shayne had been able to absorb the fire, and wondered if she could do the same with light. She reached a hand up and tried to draw the light to her. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the light slowly seeped from the bulb and spiraled down into her hand like tendrils of smoke. When she was done, the light was out.

"Interesting..." Ian muttered. But Courtney wasn't done. She figured if she could absorb light, she could draw it back out again. She tried to form a small ball of light similar to the fireball Shayne had created earlier. She managed to create it, and tossed it from hand to hand, before throwing it into the wall, where it exploded like she imagined water would if it could be held in ball form. Still, she wasn't done showing off. She could also fly, something which she was looking forward to. Honestly, who didn't want to fly? Okay, probably some people, but definitely not Courtney.

She figured all that she had to do was jump and... hold it somehow. She took a breath, before jumping into the air, but instead of staying there, she fell back to the ground. Shayne snickered, and she glared at him. He frowned at her innocently.

"What? I didn't say anything?"

Courtney rolled her eyes. He was turning her own words back against her, so she couldn't really do anything. She tried to jump again, but still, she couldn't stay up. After a third try, her face hardened and she turned to Ian.

"Can you use your remote to get me up there?" She pointed toward the ceiling. Ian looked at her, perplexed.

"Like... on the ceiling?"

"No, how would you even do that? I meant on a platform up there or something," She said. Ian nodded.

"Yes... what are you planning to do?"

"Jump off," Courtney said simply. Ian looked at her like she was crazy.

"Um, weren't you all on my back for possibly hurting you to activate Shayne's powers like... five minutes ago?" He asked. Courtney shrugged.

"Yeah, but I trust me to save myself more than I trust Shayne," Courtney said. Shayne looked at her, annoyed, but she ignored him. "Plus, we didn't even know if we had powers at that point. Now we do, and I also know I can use some of mine. I figure I just need a little... push to activate my flight. Plus, you probably have some sort of... thing set up to catch me if I fall," She said confidently. Ian looked at her thoughtfully.

"I... guess I can get you up there then. And you're right, I do have a safety net. Alright, give me a second," He said, pressing a button on his remote. The section of singed wall spun sideways and turned into a platform. Courtney stepped on fearlessly. Ian looked at her again, concerned. "You sure you want to do this?"

Courtney nodded. "I am."

Ian pressed another button, and the platform slowly began to rise. Everyone's eyes followed it as it climbed the rest of the wall, and jerked to a stop close to the ceiling. Courtney stepped to the edge and looked down, and suddenly doubt and nerves were clawing at her insides. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all... She could still turn around, ask Ian to lower her back down, but... she couldn't, really. She wanted to prove herself. She could talk as much talk as she wanted, but she knew if she couldn't walk the walk, people would lose their respect for her. And she needed their respect. Clearly, none of them liked her. Not even her friends from school really liked her, they just hung out with her because it made people respect them. She let them. Having people around her made others more intimidated by her.

If she chickened out of this, she'd lose the one thing she got from people. So no, she couldn't back down. No, she had to do this. Everyone on the ground looked up at her, some expectant, some nervous... She took a deep breath. She could do this.

She took a step back from the edge, and then two quick steps forward. She was off of the platform. She felt air rushing by her and panicked, realizing she was falling, not flying. A scream tried to tear its way from her throat, but she didn't let it. Her heartbeat quickened as she approached the ground. Even if Ian was going to break her fall, this was terrifying. Come on, she had to do this. She told herself to focus, but it was hard to focus on anything but the air whipping past her and the quickly approaching ground. Still, she took a deep breath, and tried to pull herself away from the ground.

As she neared the ground, she closed her eyes tight, bracing for impact with Ian's safety net and accepting defeat. But the moment of embarrassment and mild pain didn't come. She opened one eye, and found she was hovering a few inches from the ground. She opened her other eye, and sighed lightly, glad to have avoided pain and humiliation. She floated the last bit back to earth, and smiled cockily at the group. Everyone looked at least slightly impressed with her, and she relished in that. She especially appreciated the look of surprise and respect on Shayne's face. It was an interesting expression on him. Kind of made him look like he'd been electrocuted.

"Well? How'd I do?" She asked. Ian smiled at her, eyebrows raised.

"You are definitely... dedicated. And determined. I'm impressed," He said. Courtney smiled. Dedicated and determined. She liked that.

"Damn, I didn't know you were so hardcore, Miller," Noah said. Courtney laughed, either because of the adrenaline that was currently coursing through her, or because of the absurdity of hearing Noah Grossman call her hardcore. Or really, hearing Noah Grossman say the word hardcore. Noah looked at her strangely, but she didn't care, moving to rejoin the group. Ian clapped his hands together.

"Who's next?" Ian asked.

"Well, I don't know how I'll be able to follow that whole act up, but I'll go," Keith said. Ian nodded.

"Alright. Um, Joven, could you grab me a... plant from my office?" Ian asked, pressing a button on his remote. The platform began to descend slowly. Joven nodded.

"Sure thing," He said, before running back out of the room, and returning a few moments later slightly out of breath and holding a potted plant. The platform stayed horizontal, and stopped a few feet from the ground, essentially on level with a desk. Joven placed the plant on the platform and stepped back, gesturing for Keith to step forward and take his place, which he did. Keith frowned, looking between Ian and the plant.

"Wait, what am I supposed to do?"

"Like... try to communicate with the plant. Tell it what you want it to do," Ian said. Keith shook his head, but locked his eyes on the plant and concentrated. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the plant grew and twisted upward.

"Whoa, just like Poison Ivy..." Damien said. Keith stepped back after a minute or so, and the plant stopped growing. Ian nodded.

"Nice job. Um, I'd test your powers with the earth and animals, but unfortunately we're indoors, and there aren't any animals here."

"We'll just have to test those another time," Joven added. Keith nodded.

"Okay."

"Thanks for understanding. Who's next. Noah?" Ian looked to the tall boy. Noah nodded.

"Alright, sure. Um, do I just run or...?" He asked. Ian shrugged.

"I mean... that should work," He said. Noah nodded, taking a sprinter's starting position before taking off. Shayne recalled that he did track. Well, he'd definitely be able to knock the competition on their asses after this. He was a purple blur as he circled the gym once, then twice, and then a third time. Shayne followed Noah with his eyes, quickly becoming dizzy and having to look away.

Apparently, Noah also became dizzy, as he stopped running soon after. Unfortunately, it was too sudden a stop, and he flew forward into the wall with a thud. Everyone winced.

"You okay dude?" Joven asked. Noah stumbled to his feet and shot them a thumbs up.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Well, we're going to have to work on stopping, and I bet you can go even faster if you practice more, but that was great, Noah. Good job," Ian said. Noah smiled brightly.

"Thanks."

"So, Olivia. You ready?" Ian asked. Olivia frowned, before nodding tentatively. Ian pressed another button, and a piece of the floor sunk down, leaving a giant hole in the floor. Everyone looked at the hole in curiosity, wondering how, exactly, Olivia was going to demonstrate her strength in a giant hole. It was revealed that she wasn't when another platform rose from the floor holding a car. Courtney looked at Ian strangely.

"Why do you have a button that pulls a car out of the floor?" She asked. Ian shrugged.

"You never know when you need a car. And hey, we did need one, so I guess I'm just a genius," He said. Courtney rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything else. Olivia stepped toward the car. She glanced at Ian.

"So I just... pick it up?" She said. Ian nodded.

"Yeah, that's the idea."

Olivia took a deep breath, before kneeling next to the car. She placed her hands under the car, repositioning them slightly to get the best spacing, and took a deep breath, before lifting the car up. Unfortunately, she was unused to her strength, and at the angle she was lifting from, tipped the car sideways and threw it. Olivia stumbled back as the car did a barrel roll, and then another, before finally skidding to a stop against the opposite wall.

"Oops..." She said. Ian shrugged.

"It's fine. I can get another car. And hey, we know that your powers work now! So, that's a plus. We will have to work on control, but... you did great for your first try. Good job," He said. Olivia looked at him with an expression that was hard to read.

"Thank you."

"Of course. So, I bet you guys are really tired at this point. It's been a big day. I'll get someone to drive you home, but we should probably practice again tomorrow, if that works with you all. It is Saturday, right?" He frowned, checking his smartwatch. "Yeah, it's Saturday. So, is that good with all of you?"

"Yeah, I think so," Shayne said. Damien nodded.

"Works for me too."

"I'm not doing anything, so..." Courtney said casually. Keith nodded.

"Same. As long as my mom says I can go out, I'll come," He said.

"Yeah, I can probably come," Noah said. Everyone looked to Olivia.

"I'll come."

"Alright, great! Well, I'll just let Joven show you guys out, and either Lasercorn or Sohinki is gonna drive you guys home, okay?" Ian said. Everyone nodded. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you all, and I look forward to working with you. Have a great night. Joven?"

Joven led the six teenagers out of the gym, continuing down the hallway and turning into another door. This one was labelled 'Garage'. It was, unsurprisingly, a garage. A man with dyed red hair and tinted sunglasses was waiting outside one of four cars parked next to each other. Two of them were fancy sports cars, one was a creepy black van, and one was a convertible. The man was standing next to the convertible.

"This is Lasercorn, he'll be driving you all home. Um, yeah... bye," Joven said, quickly leaving the six of them with the redhead. He looked at them with a neutral expression. Damien was unnerved by the fact that he couldn't see the guy's eyes. The guy coughed.

"So, you guys gonna get in, or what?" He asked. Damien blinked, realizing that they were all just... staring at the guy.

"Oh, uh, yeah."

"I'll take shotgun," Shayne said, getting in quickly. The other five squeezed into the back seat, and even though Noah was half on top of Damien, they managed to fit. Lasercorn got in last, starting the car up and pulling out of the garage. They finally had a view of where they were, and it was... seriously breathtaking. They were way up on the mountain overlooking their town, but all they could see of it were lights. Everything was so... small from up here. Lasercorn laughed at their reactions.

"Crazy view, isn't it? In the daytime you can kinda see cars. Makes them all look like ants," He said.

"Wow," Shayne managed, still taking in the view as they descended the mountain.

"What're all your addresses?" Lasercorn asked. Everyone hesitated, wondering if they really should give this random guy their addresses. But honestly, the night had been so wild already, and they really just wanted to get home. Lasercorn was their only ride home after all. Plus, he worked for Ian Hecox. Shayne gave in first, and the others followed suit, giving Lasercorn their addresses.

They drove mostly in silence, all pretty wiped out and taking in the drive. They reached Noah's house first, and said some rushed and slightly awkward goodbyes as Noah climbed off of Damien and over Keith and Courtney to get out of the car. Then came Courtney's house, and even more awkward goodbyes, as nobody had really warmed up to her that much yet. After that, they drove to Keith's house, and Olivia got out then as well, since they were neighbors, which they hadn't known until they'd given their addresses. Then they got to Damien's.

Shayne watched Damien walk to his door. The brown haired boy turned right as he reached the door and made eye contact with Shayne. Shayne, not really knowing what to do, waved awkwardly, and to his relief, Damien waved back. They smiled at each other for a moment, before Damien remembered he was supposed to be going into his house, and opened the door. Lasercorn drove off after he was inside the house.

"So, Shayne, right?" Lasercorn said. Shayne nodded.

"Yeah, that's me."

"You've got my powers, right? Well, I guess they aren't mine, but..." Lasercorn trailed off.

"I... yeah. I'm sorry about that, I feel really bad about this whole thing actually. I feel like we kind of... stole powers from you guys. Like, you guys were all working on this stuff, trying to make it work, and then we just... stumble across it and get what you've been working for. Doesn't seem fair," Shayne said. Lasercorn tilted his head, considering this.

"I mean, I guess it's disappointing and all. I was looking forward to being able to shoot fire from my hands and whatnot. And I'd bet Ian, Anthony, and Joven are pretty bummed. But they'll get over it. Plus, Ian and Anthony are crazy rich and crazy smart. They can build something that does the same thing your powers do. Actually, I do have a neat flamethrower gun, and rumor has it Ian's been working on a sort of... super-suit. Not to mention, Joven's been working with Anthony to recreate a lot of Batman's old gadgets. We'll be fine, Shayne. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"Still, I don't feel like we should be the ones to have these powers. It's like... I can't believe that I deserve this kind of ability, you know?" Shayne frowned. Lasercorn shrugged.

"I mean, nobody's going to be perfectly equipped for this stuff. I wouldn't have been. Ian wouldn't have been. Probably the only one of us who would've been able to handle powers would be Mari, or maybe Sohinki. But the energy source chose you guys. Maybe not because you were perfectly prepared to wield these powers but maybe... maybe because you could. If you guys train, and practice, and work together, and better each other and yourselves, then... maybe you will be the perfect people to have powers. You never know," He said.

"I don't believe in perfection."

"Neither do I. Who knows, the energy source could've activated by six other completely random people. Probably would've. But then you're thinking about it wrong, because if there is no perfect group of people to activate these powers, then why not you?" Lasercorn asked. Shayne frowned, looking for an answer.

"I... you're right. I'm not gonna beat myself up over this. Thanks, Lasercorn."

"I live to serve. Just kidding, I do what I want. But you're welcome," He smiled at Shayne. Shayne liked Lasercorn a lot already. "Well, this looks like your stop, Shayne. I'll probably see you soon."

"Thanks for the ride. And the talk," Shayne said, getting out of the car.

"Dude, you already said thank you for that, and I already said you're welcome. Just... go get some sleep, kid. Sleep's good for you or something," Lasercorn shrugged. Shayne laughed, shaking his head. Lasercorn was something else.

"Alright, fine. Have a good night," He said. Lasercorn nodded.

"You too."

Shayne made his way to the door. He thought over the events of the past few hours and realized how tired he really was. He also realized how much his life had changed in such a short period of time. For the better, or for the worse? Well, only time would tell. For some reason, this moment felt oddly symbolic. He was stepping back into his normal life with superpowers. It was a strange blend of normal and totally insane. Why was he hesitating? He just had to open the door and walk inside. He looked back to see Lasercorn waiting for him to walk inside. Shayne told himself to just do it. Okay, he did this all the time, it wasn't a big deal at all. He took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open, and then Shayne stepped back into his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo hope this was enjoyable! im really looking forward to writing more for this au lmao. all thoughts welcome, don't hesitate to comment *wink *wink
> 
> yeah lmao anyway, have a good one!


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